Offseason
2059 Notes
League BA dropped 1 point, to .270, while ERA fell to 4.52, its lowest mark since 2056.
The Melbourne Aces only struck out 740 times during the 2059 season, a new record. The previous best were the 2049 Sluggers, who got rung up only 765 times. The Metros surpassed their worst ever pitching season, putting up an ERA of 5.76. The previous 2 worst marks were also held by the Metros, their 2058 and 2057 teams not much better than this year’s iteration. They also allowed 983 runs, another new record.
ABC Wrap-up
The Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Goanna’s finished the season locked up atop the Northern Division, as did the Dunedin Outlaws and Jakarta Stars in the Overseas Division, forcing two 1-game playoffs to determine half of the postseason participants. The Gold Coast easily accounted for Brisbane in the first playoff, downing them 8-2.
The other game was a much tighter affair. A 1-out double by Dunedin in the top of the 1st was the closest either team came to scoring until the Outlaws bunted a runner into scoring position in the 5th. They got a runner as far as 3rd in the 6th but left him stranded. Meanwhile, Jakarta wasn’t creating any scoring opportunities, no baserunner touching 2nd safely through the first 8 innings. The Outlaws again got a runner to 3rd in the top of the 8th but couldn’t bring him home. They would rue all those missed opportunities as, in the bottom of the 9th, Jakarta cleanup hitter Rodney Ellison deposited an up-in-the-zone fastball 409 feet over left-centre and over the fence for a walk-off HR!
The result meant Jakarta took on Broome in one semi-final series, and the Goannas duked it out with Sydney in the other. Jakarta overcame Broome 3-1 in their matchup, giving themselves the opportunity to defend their crown. The other semi-final took 5 games, Sydney doing the business in the decider with a decisive 4-0 victory.
Jakarta and Sydney traded the 1st 2 games of the Grand Final Series, before Jakarta came from behind to win Game 3. That seemed to break the back of the Highlife and they surrendered the next 2 games without much resistance. Jakarta were back-to-back ABC Champions! Indonesia partied for a week.
33 y/o journeyman Bob Crawford (.330/.366/.447, 12HR) took home the Golden Rookie Award.
Grizzled 35 y/o Darren Fenton (18-7, 2.12 ERA, 2.43 FIP, 0.96 WHIP) of the Kumuls took home the Golden Arm Award.
There was no contest as to the Golden Bat Winner. Gold Coast’s Sebastian Horton (.338/.399/.607, 38HR) had a 9.1 WAR season, 2.2 WAR higher than any other hitter. He also led the league in BA and RBI.
BL Wrap-up
Both Semifinals went the distance, Belo Horizonte triumphing 3-2 over Managua in one series, while Maracaibo beat Asuncion 3-2 in the other, thus giving the Magnates a chance to go back-to-back.
Maracaibo were no chance in the Championship Series, however, Belo Horizonte sweeping them to win their 2nd title, having last won in 2047. Dermott Downes put an exclamation mark on the victory, throwing a 3-hit, 2-walk shutout to win Game 4. He struck out 9, including the last batter of the game. The 2048 AUNZBL Hurler of the Year had been pretty poor during the regular season, notching up a 2-7 record and spending 6 starts in the minors.
27 y/o Roberto Martinez (.280/.365/.423, 9HR), traded just a few days before the Awards Ceremony by Lima to Managua, won the BL Rookie Award.
Clint Snell (14-4, 3.12 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 1.21 WHIP), returning to the BL after a 2-season stint back in the AUNZBL, won Jarra de Ano.
Stefan Lock (.291/.394/.592, 35HR) scooped Bateador de Ano for the 2nd time. Coincidentally, he also equaled the BL HR record he’d set last time he won the award, in 2057. Lock was off contract heading into the offseason, with some BL-watchers suggesting he might head back for a final dig at the AUNZBL. Lock was 34 y/o.
League News
2-time Slugger of the Year, and 2042 Rookie of the Year, Quentin Stennings, retired. After 4 seasons in the BL the 40 y/o signed a minor-league contract with Cairns in November, spending the entire season bar 1 plate appearance as 1B coach of the Crocs’ short-A affiliate. His 1PA was a loaded-bases walk. Stennings had peaked early and declined quickly, his best season coming as a 27 y/o when he hit a league-high .355, with 53 doubles, on his way to his 2nd SotY. He was good without being great for the next 3 seasons before, in the terms on one analyst, “he got useless fast.” Having last played in the AUNZBL in 2053 Stennings would immediately be eligible for HoF consideration. While his career stat-line was .295/.354/.488, and he had 287HR to go with his 1904 hits, 3 major awards and 4 All-Star selections, he was considered an outside chance at best.
The Baseball and Betting Saga
1 Jun: As promised, Rex Rees, together with the majority of other players accused of spot-fixing in
Baseball and Betting, launched legal action against Arlene Pinkington, James Huff, and their publishing company, suing for an undisclosed amount. Rees’ lawyer fronted media and said, “Rex Rees and the other players involved in this class-action lawsuit aren’t worried so much about the monetary aspect of this suit, though they will all be entitled to every cent they win. Rather, they are concerned with repairing any damage caused by the baseless accusations and slander perpetrated by Ms. Pinkington and Mr. Huff. In simple terms, they want the record set straight, and this is the best way to do so.”
Rees would represent the group, which included several current players - Manuel Salinas, Angelo Spear and Rhetty Thurley the most recognizable. Rees briefly faced the media scrum, saying, “The actions of Pinkington and Huff are incomprehensible. Every player involved in this lawsuit feels the same way. Many have said they’ve suffered sleepless nights just wondering why someone would say the things they’ve said.”
2 Jun: Pinkington and Huff were quick to respond, but did so via datafeed rather than live media conference. “We will not back down or be silenced,” they said, “and we know the truth will come out.”
Fan opinion was divided as to whether the allegations were true. Current polling showed 60% of participants thought the allegations were false, 35% thought they were true, and 5% were undecided.
10 Jun: In a hysterical live datafeed Huff announced that Pinkington had disappeared. “She’s been abducted,” he kept repeating, unable to sit still in front of the camera. He then panned around her apartment, where the contents of drawers were scattered on the ground, sofa cushions sliced open and stuffing spilling every which way, and several pictures smashed on the floor. Federal police immediately sprung into action.
11 Jun: The AUNZBL offered a brisk, 'We have absolutely nothing to do with this and why would we?' type response to the Pinkington disappearance. The lawyers for the Rees’ class-action lawsuit issued a similar statement, but much more delicately worded.
12 Jun: There had been no activity on any of Pinkington’s bank accounts, leading police to suspect foul play.
15 Jun: After following up on an alert from Customs and trawling through hours of security footage, federal police called a press conference where they announced that Arlene Pinkington was alive and well, but had left the country on the 9th of June using a passport issued in the name of one of her previous marriage licenses. Traveling as Arlene Brole, Pinkington had left on an aircraft headed for Japan, but police doubted that was her final destination. They stressed that it appeared she was in good health and travelling alone. She had bought the ticket with cash. Investigations into all the other people on the flight, both passengers and airline personnel, yielded no direct or indirect links to Pinkington. The majority of those people had been accounted for, either within Japan on holiday or business, or, for the flight crew, either in Australia or somewhere else along the airline’s route.
16 Jun: A confused Huff sent out a delayed datafeed from a secret location. He said he was “unsure” why Pinkington had fled the country, and that she “hadn’t been in contact” with him since.” Still, “judging by the state of her apartment, she had good reason” to flee. Because of that Huff had also gone into semi-hiding, but he vowed he would fight on and appear at all his court dates.
21 Jun: After reviewing all possible security footage from Pinkington’s apartment complex and neighbouring shops and public transport stations, police were of the opinion that Pinkington had acted alone in leaving the country. They were also of the opinion that she had ransacked her apartment herself as there was no evidence of intruders and no evidence of any sort of footage tampering - physical, electronic, digital. The conspiracy theorists went into overdrive, the focus shifting from the AUNZBL to the government wanting to neutralize her due to another project she was working on.
22 Jun: Huff sent out another datafeed. While he stopped short of saying he didn’t believe the police, he did imply that their story wasn’t entirely accurate. He also said he was “worried” by the fact some key pieces of evidence that “formed the backbone” of their research had gone missing, both physically and virtually.
Fan opinion as to the veracity of Pinkington and Huff’s claims hadn’t changed all that much. Now 64% of respondents felt the allegations were false, 28% thought they were true, and 8% were unsure.
25 Jun: Police experts released their findings as to the missing evidence. While they couldn’t account for any of the physical evidence, they could determine that the virtual copies had been deleted by someone using one of Pinkington’s net IDs.
There were copies already in circulation, most notably of the interviews with the bookies and underworld figures supposedly involved in spot-fixing, but these had been stripped of any identifying information - timesets, GPS data, etc - before being uploaded for public consumption, as was the custom amongst the publishing houses.
However, based on what analysis they could do, the conclusion reached by the experts was that the authenticity of Huff & Pinkington's videos was “questionable at best.” Frame-by-frame analysis of at least one of the videos appeared to show stage props commonly found in any virtual reality lab or visual recording studio. But while the circumstantial evidence seemed to point to the videos being faked, it was “impossible to say so with 100%, or even 90%, certainty,” according to the lead forensic scientist.
28 Jun: In a surprising turn of events, Huff admitted via datafeed that some of the interviews were “recreations” rather than covertly recorded. He insisted the actual recordings were, or at least had been, in existence, but that most of them were only audio rather than audiovisual. This was because the “security software” used at the places the interviews were captured was too advanced to sneak those types of devices in, but also “so advanced as to allow for obsolete forms of recording technology to be used.”
3 Jul: Pinkington was alive and well! She sent a brief datafeed to announce the fact, and while she wouldn’t reveal where she was, techsters around Australia quickly deciphered that she was on the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean. Apart from her message of good health, Pinkington cryptically said “all would shortly be revealed” as to why she fled Australia, but that “Australasians can be sure this is a very big deal, and will change our understanding of the world.”
5 Jul: Full of surprises, Huff suddenly began to distance himself from Pinkington. “I haven’t had any contact with her since she left,” he said from an undisclosed location in Western Australia, “and whatever project she was working on she was either working on alone or with someone else. We collaborated on
Betting on Baseball, but nothing else. While I understand her need to remove herself from the country if she feels her life is in danger, it does make my continued legal battle more difficult to manage and that combined with the disappearance of key pieces of testimony as used in the book places me on somewhat shaky ground, even though I stand by the assertion that our findings are 100% accurate.”
Was Huff implying that he now thought Pinkington
had erased the data herself? Or was he just connecting the dots to paint a picture of his situation, and possibly gain some courtroom sympathy? He wouldn’t elaborate, but word began to filter out of Pinkington and Huff's publisher that it was Pinkington who had done the bulk of the undercover work, while Huff’s primary roles were research (book and net) and writing.
12 Jul: Over a week had passed after Pinkington’s message from Europe. She had not surfaced again and public interest began to wane. The court case was taking place behind closed doors, no reporters allowed, and things other than baseball were hogging the headlines. A fourth lunar colony was about to open - colonists apply now! - and some surprising breakthroughs in the field of physics, primarily in regards to harnessing or creating gravity, were opening up all kinds of possibilities, both in earth and space.
21 Sep: James Huff took the podium at a press conference and read from a statement. His tone was dull and the speech wordy, but the essence was that he “unreservedly apologized” for bringing the game of baseball and some of its players into disrepute through false allegations and fabricated evidence.
It became clear a day or two later when Huff filed for bankruptcy that he had lacked the means to continue the legal battle, and would have been unable to afford the reparations demanded in the likely case that he lost due to the factors he’d already addressed in his 5 Jul datafeed.
The AUNZBL and the lawyers for the Rees’ class-action suit trumpeted the result as “a win for baseball and a reminder that attempting to discredit the sport for personal gain would always fail.” Many in the legal profession weren’t quite so effusive. One well-known judge asked, “Is it really a win when one party is financially pressured into an outcome?”
Huff disappeared from the public eye, for a while, at least.
Notable Club Happenings
Darwin: Maybe 63 y/o Dylan Bruce saw the writing on the wall, or maybe he just wanted to do as his press release said: “Spend more time traveling and relaxing.” The man who’d skippered the Diggers since their arrival in the AUNZBL hung up his cap after 12 years on the job. He’d led Darwin to a 989-955 record, not bad considering they were an expansion team. He’d leaned on the dugout railings during the postseason in 7 campaigns, and while he’d never won a Championship, or even Skipper of the Year, he could be proud of the fact Darwin boasted 7 Division Titles in their trophy cabinet. Mike Bolitho, who’d been bench coach in Darwin since 2051, wouldn’t get a chance to manage. His contract was not renewed.
Kununurra: General Manager Rick Bolitho quietly retired, as seemed to be the norm for the guys in the top office.
Melbourne: 1st-year GM Danny Stapleton kept his job, much to the frustration of the fan base, and told reporters he “was looking forward to a robust review process to determine where we went wrong this season and how we can improve going forward.”
Newcastle: Perhaps GM Mitchell Franks was acting to preserve his own job, but he didn’t even wait until the offseason had officially started to give manager Paul Kesterton his marching orders, firing him during the Preliminary Finals. 61 y/o Kesterton had an unenviable record as a manager, and talk out of the Roos’ clubhouse during the season had been that he and Franks were often at loggerheads even if neither party ever argued in public. BC Rodney Quine was hopeful he’d have a good chance to make his case for a promotion but that was not to be. As soon as the postseason ended Quine was sent on his way too, but told reporters he’d “seen this coming after Paul had been gone a few days.” Franks somehow stayed on as GM, and appointed 46 y/o Zhang-sung Sun to the manager’s chair. A relative unknown, Sun had spent the last 2 seasons overseeing the Orbost Seagulls in the ABC single-A league, and before that had spent time as skipper of several clubs in the Indonesion semi-pros. He was known as a disciplinarian who would brook no arguments.
Whangarei: There had been high hopes when Wesley Stephens had been appointed to the GM role in Whangarei in 2051. The former minor league relief pitcher had built teams in Auckland and Sydney that had won rings and generally been competitive. His first year at the helm of the Sluggers and the fans were ecstatic, the team putting up a 94-68 record to win the division. But that was their high point, the team not finishing with a winning record in the 8 years since. Stephens’ contract was up for renewal at the end of this season, but owner Jenny Diprose indicated during the last month of the season that they would be heading in a different direction for 2060. Skipper Peter Massingham, who’d been at the club the same amount of time that Stephens had been, somehow earned a reprieve and would at least start next season as Whangarei skipper. Bench coach Liam Cleaver was moved on, as were the hitting coach and the team trainer.
Notable Free Agent Signings/Player Contract Extensions
23 Apr: Melbourne felt that 24 y/o Karl Blackwell (14-9, 3 sv, 4.07 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.55 WHIP) had a great future, today buying out the rest of his arbitration years with a 6-year deal. The young southpaw threw a fastball, curve, slider and changeup, had good movement on his pitches and generally picked and hit his spots well.
23 Apr: 28 y/o Matthew Utting (.274/.350/.462, 90HR) seemed like a big-league veteran, but actually only had just over 4 years’ service time to his name. Today the Cowboys announced he’d signed a 5-year contract extension.
23 Apr: According to internal sources, the Blue Sox had “got themselves a steal” after signing 27 y/o Nigel Anderton (.272/.342/.471, 85HR) to a 5-year extension.
23 Apr: Central Coast were prepared to “throw the book” at 24 y/o SP John Zglinicki (29-18, 4.04 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 1.11 WHIP), locking him up with a 6-year extension.
23 Apr: 26 y/o Calvin Hodnett (.278/.353/.493, 111HR) would qualify for free agency, injury notwithstanding, at the end of the 2060 season. But Heat fans were pleased to find out he wasn’t going anywhere just yet. The extremely popular slugger had just put pen to paper on a 6-year extension.
23 Apr: Perth moved to buy out the arbitration years of another local favourite, 23 y/o Tadakuni Sasaki (.305/.369/.493, 27HR), the two parties agreeing to terms on a 5-year contract.
23 Apr: 28 y/o Fernando Contreras (.241/.364/.467, 68HR) had well and truly made the transition from NABA player to AUNZBL player. He today agreed to a 5-year contract extension with the Fury, gushing about how much he loved ‘Windy Wellington.’
24 Apr: Adelaide and 24 y/o Umashankar Meenakshi (27-10, 3.74 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 1.34 WHIP) crossed their I’s and dotted their T’s on a 5-year extension which would buy out Meenakshi’s arbitration years.
24 Apr: 28 y/o CF Alan Willey (.295/.350/.428, 67HR) was willing to stay put with the struggling Metros a while longer. He’d signed a 4-year extension. Willey was still recovering from a bad concussion, which gave the late-night baseball guys an easy joke for the next few days.
13 May: The busiest day of the year for baseball journalists, even though nearly every player who hadn’t extended with their current team and was going to file for free agency was already known. Still, it gave the analysts an opportunity to joust and rumour-monger and otherwise enjoy themselves immensely.
This year’s top 5 free agents, according to OotPB TV, were:
27 y/o 1B Jorge Diaz
35 y/o SP Lance Ralston
29 y/o 2B Beau Snell
34 y/o SP Clint Aitcheson
28 y/o SP Greg Ahern
Some of the other free agents included:
36 y/o SP Angelo Spear
35 y/o RF Sean Carr
29 y/o SP Clint Kline
29 y/o C Norm Donaldson
32 y/o SP Cody Watts
32 y/o SP Ted Heathcote
34 y/o SP Baden Henderson
30 y/o RF Caspar Purcell
32 y/o SP Li Loetzsch
31 y/o CL Ryan Digby
35 y/o 2B Manuel Salinas
35 y/o CL Rhett Thurley
27 y/o 2B Dean Brewster
30 y/o CL Aaron Fingleson
31 y/o SP Adam Ward (ABC)
33 y/o SP Edwin Kerr
36 y/o CL Rex Herbert
27 y/o SS Jay Saunderson
Canberra were the biggest WAR losers, shedding 13.3, closely followed by Cairns, who lost 12.6, Adelaide (-11.2), and Perth (-10.7). Brisbane actually gained WAR (+2.0).
This year boasted a strong pitching class, so the relatively few hitters could expect their agents to negotiate them some big deals.
19 May: The first free agent signing of the offseason was... 27 y/o SP Claudio Banda (25-32, 4.81 ERA, 5.10 FIP, 1.47 WHIP). Melbourne had signed him to a “very affordable” 2-year deal. GM Danny Stapleton felt Banda was “criminally undervalued,” but how he would go in a hitter’s park remained to be seen, particularly given his 3rd pitch, a change-up complementing a good fastball and curve, was poor.
19 May: Christchurch extended 27 y/o CF Kelvin Pickhills (.262/.324/.411, 64HR) for 3 more years.
21 May: Sydney trumpeted the signing of Cody Watts (86-74, 3.78 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) for 2 years. Watts was a native Sydney-sider and said he was “ecstatic at the chance of pitching for his hometown team.”
21 May: Norm Donaldson (.282/.367/.465, 123HR) filed for free agency but the truth was, he told journos today, that he “didn’t want to play anywhere else but Adelaide.” He’d just put pen to paper on a 7-year deal with the Venom and hoped to stay with them for the duration. Why had he filed for free agency? “Well, I had to, didn’t I?” Donaldson responded. “We were still negotiating terms and if I didn’t file I wouldn’t be eligible to play next season.”
22 May: As if they didn’t already have enough power in their lineup, the Venom announced the signing of superstar Jorge Diaz (.320/.374/.567, 278HR) on a 4-year deal. Did Diaz think the Venom could defend their title? “You bet!” was the rapid response.
22 May: Ryan ‘Rip’ Digby (28-45, 193 sv, 3.34 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) was 5’10” and once stated he’d love to “break the sound barrier” with his fastball. His nickname arrived when he was in the minors and ripped his pants 2 days in a row while pitching. The charismatic Digby, who was apparently fluent in ancient Greek, had signed for 2 seasons with Sydney. Like Watts, he had also previously played for the Fury and was a Sydney native.
22 May: Cairns extended another 5’10’ pocket rocket, 28 y/o CL Sterling Boston (25-33, 158 sv, 4.01 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) for 3 years, the 3rd year being a player option.
22 May: There had been talk that 34 y/o Stefan Lock (.277/.365/.546, 154HR in 5 BL seasons) might be heading back to Australia for another shot at the majors. Those rumours were quickly put to bed, however, the 2-time BL Bateador de Ano signing a 2-year deal with Maracaibo. “I like it here,” he said to an Australian reporter on assignment, “and as long as they'll pay me to see the continent, I think I'll stick around.” This would be Lock’s 3rd BL team and Magnates fans were jubilant he was heading their way.
24 May: Christchurch took a punt on 36 y/o former ABCer Keiran Southey (.300/.380/.453, 26HR), giving him a 2-year deal, the 2nd year being a vesting option requiring 135 games played. Southey, who still owned LF despite his age, was a “natural leader,” according to those who’d played with him on the Gold Coast. One former teammate quipped, “He needs a shopping trolley to carry around his cajones. Or, in other words, he’ll put his body on the line every day for you, whether you deserve it or not.”
25 May: 2058 HotY Clint Kline (62-48, 3.75 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.12 WHIP) was off to the tropics. He’d signed a 7-year deal with Cairns, the last season being a team option.
27 May: 11-time All Star Rex Herbert (58-61, 370 sv, 3.01 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.27 WHIP) had made noises towards the end of the season that he might head over to the Lower Americas to play out his twilight years. That was not to be, at least not yet. Herbert would grace the AUNZBL for at least 2 more seasons, having agreed to a 2-year contract with Wellington. The Fury would be the 6th team Herbert would pitch for in the majors.
27 May: 32 y/o Brian Swerdlove (.244/.341/.366, 36HR) landed on his feet after not being offered arbitration by Melbourne. The champion Venom saw a place for him on their roster, though he’d be backing up Diaz and might spend plenty of 2060 as he had in 2059, in AAA.
27 May: Melbourne wanted Caspar Purcell (.273/.362/.451, 151HR) real bad. To get him they offered a 7-year contract, the last season being a vesting option based on PA. How did Purcell react? “Grabbed it with both hands, mate,” he said. “Yeah, it’s great to have my playing future sorted out.”
28 May: Rhett Thurley (68-60, 309 sv, 3.09 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.18 WHIP) was headed to the Venom on a 3-year agreement. He was keen to be their “go-to guy” in the pen and said his arm “felt as good as it did when I was 25.”
28 May: Wellington had lost a few players to free agency but their goal, according to 3rd-year GM Travis Aitcheson, was to “upgrade everywhere.” Their first significant splash in the offseason was signing Beau Snell (.324/.376/.419, 44HR) to a 6-year deal.
29 May: Sean Carr (.323/.384/.484, 242HR) would call Darwin home for the next 2 seasons. His first comment about his new city? “They’ve got a good party scene, so that’s all good.”
29 May: He was once again ‘The Missing Piece,’ this time according to Wellington executives. Lance Ralston (175-130, 3.56 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 1.28 WHIP) hadn’t quite got Cairns a trophy, faltering badly last postseason, but he’d done a lot to get them a shot, and he was confident Wellington would be more than just a competitive force, even though their rotation would look very different in 2060. “We’ll go all the way,” he said, “and we’ll make it look easy!” He’d be wearing a Fury uniform for the next 2 seasons.
29 May: Sydney re-signed Dean Brewster (.309/.387/.391, 16HR) to a 3-year deal.
30 May: 34 y/o Gordon Appleby (.265/.318/.452, 226HR), who’d never quite lived up to the hype of being #1 overall draft pick but had managed to carve out a respectable career regardless, signed with the Blue Sox for 2 years, the 2nd being a team option.
31 May: 41 y/o Esteban Madrigal (.275/.348/.501, 273HR) had sadly missed the entire 2059 season due to injury. Today he faded out of the AUNZBL with nary a whisper, signing a 1-year deal with Maracaibo. ‘Shark’ still had some pop and was looking forward to playing with the BL’s top slugger in Stefan Lock.
1 Jun: Newcastle and Li Loetzsch (67-68, 4.03 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) agreed to a 4-year deal. Every scout who ever saw the 5’11”, 81kg Loetzsch always got excited, and reports over the years almost always included the phrase “the real deal.” However, Loetzsch had never quite lived up to his billing. Perhaps moving away from the hitter-friendly confines of Melbourne’s home ground might help, though his inability to regularly throw more than 6 effective innings would likely continue to hamper him.
3 Jun: Adelaide needed to shore up their rotation after the loss of Ahern. To that end, they signed veteran Baden Henderson (132-128, 4.26 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 1.36 WHIP) to a 2-year deal, the 2nd year being a team option. Like a fine wine, 34 y/o Henderson seemed to be improving with age, his last 2 seasons his best in terms of actual pitching, if not necessarily in W-L.
3 Jun: Since being traded to Auckland in 2057, 30 y/o Adrian Stuart (.292/.328/.393, 44HR) had dropped out of the media spotlight. He was still performing well, but being on a perpetual loser did have its drawbacks. Newcastle were eager to announce his signing, however, netting him on a cheap 3-year deal. Whether he could displace Guillermo Julio or Manuel Alou for one of the corner outfield spots remained to be seen.
6 Jun: 28 y/o Angelo Sartika (.237/.367/.365, 16HR) had played the last 2 seasons in the ABC for Sydney and hadn’t been particularly impressive, either at the plate or in the field. Still, Newcastle figured him as an option to be their long-term SS, and today announced he’d agreed to a 7-year contract.
9 Jun: Adelaide signed another veteran SP, Edwin Kerr (146-125, 4.12 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) joining the team on a 2-year deal. It was a return home of sorts for Kerr, who’d worn an Adelaide uniform from 2054 when he won HotY to 2058 before going to free agency and signing a 1-year deal with Canberra.
11 Jun: 38 y/o Jayden Pye (.260/.349/.449, 292HR) had cobbled together a big-league career that spanned 14 years so far and would continue at least another year. He’d signed a 1-year deal with Melbourne. The Aces would be the 11th different club Pye had played for in the AUNZBL. For all his traipsing about, Pye was yet to be part of a Championship-winning team and had only appeared in 3 postseasons.
12 Jun: 31 y/o C Patrick Wigmore (.254/.385/.438, 141HR) was extremely popular in the Central Coast and according to GM Balamitra Mukundan was “representative of everything” the Central Coast wanted to stand for. He’d continue to be an ambassador for the Thunder for a while yet, today inking his name to a 5-year extension.
12 Jun: The Blue Sox fronted media at an 11 a.m. presser to announce a major signing. That signing was Greg Ahern (78-72, 4.48 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 1.35 WHIP). Coming off a career-best season and looking like he’d finally turned the corner in regards to seeing an entire game rather than just the hitter in front of him, Ahern had agreed to a 6-year deal, the final year being a player option.
15 Jun: Ted Heathcote (116-76, 3.81 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.19 WHIP) would also be a Blue Sock in 2060. He’d signed a 2-year deal with the club.
19 Jun: It wasn’t often a nearly 37 y/o starting pitcher got themselves a 3-year contract with no vesting option or team buyout clauses. But that’s exactly what Angelo Spear (212-150, 3.91 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.22 WHIP) negotiated with Melbourne. What did he think about playing in a park as hitter-friendly as Aces Ballpark? “The key,” he said, “is hitting my spots. If I do that I’ll have more good days than bad.” In terms of contract value, he admitted the next 3 years wouldn’t match his biggest paydays, but Melbourne had been “really very generous.”
21 Jun: AUNZBL fans might have the chance to see a bona-fide knuckleball pitcher starting games in 2060. 36 y/o Dan Eveson (17-13, 3.25 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 1.27 WHIP) had played the last 2 seasons for Port Moresby in the ABC. Prior to signing with the Kumuls, Eveson had featured in a semi-pro league in New South Wales, supporting himself as a high school teacher. Now Adelaide had signed him, but it was more likely he’d start in the high minors than on the big league roster. Whatever the case, Eveson was just “grateful to have the opportunity to continue playing baseball fulltime.”
24 Jun: Sydney snaffled up Jay Saunderson (.277/.325/.433, 76HR) on a 3-year deal.
26 Jun: Melbourne were working hard to put together a competitive rotation for 2060. Today, they unveiled Clint Aitcheson (191-116, 3.87 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.20 WHIP) as the next piece of that puzzle. He’d signed a 2-year contract and joked his primary reason for going with the Aces was to be “on the same team as Angelo when I overtake him as the winningest pitcher ever.” Some Melbourne fans and a few prominent analysts weren’t so sure Aitcheson was the right move for the club. Over the last season the velocity on his fastball had dropped around 6 km/h and his cut fastball, slider and changeup also didn’t have the same menace or mirage about them.
27 Jun: 2059 Brodie Backhouse winner Aaron Fingleson (38-32, 96 sv, 3.30 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) found himself a home with the defending champs. But Adelaide weren’t promising him the closing role, saying he’d have to duke it out during ST with Rhett Thurley and Bailey Naylor.
30 Jun: Perhaps because of his outspoken attitude and the perceived falling-out he’d had with his skipper during the season, some within the media began to postulate that perhaps the spot-fixing allegations swirling around Manuel Salinas (.312/.413/.382, 34HR) were in fact true. The relative lack of interest in him during free agency didn’t help quell the rumours any, either. Today he signed with Darwin on a modest 1-year deal and took the presser as an opportunity to unload on all his critics. “All you media guys who’ve been saying ‘maybe Manuel has been cheating,’ here’s what I have to say back to you: you make me sick, you disgust me, if any of you were man enough to say that to my face I’d knock your teeth out. Maybe I’m an easy target because I give my actual opinion when asked questions, not the vanilla responses most other ballplayers give, but if you’re going to go after me, you’ve got to go after all the other players mentioned. But you know the allegations are rubbish so you just go after the guy who’ll give you the best headlines. You’re all a blight on humanity and I don’t want any of you talking to me ever again.”
He wasn’t done, but the remainder of his tirade sounded very similar to what had already been said. It provided plenty of fodder for the late-night baseball shows, however, as did the expression of his new manager, 38 y/o Gavin Brigatti, who had recently been hired by Darwin after having managed Adelaide and Brisbane in the ABC. Brigatti’s expression quickly changed from serene to worried to badly-concealed horror as Salinas continued talking, and close-ups of his face dominated the baseball news for the next couple days.
4 Jul: Blair Toohey (.265/.372/.399, 204HR) would be 41 y/o before the start of the 2060 season, but Sydney obviously still saw value in the burly 3B. They signed him to a 1-year deal, planning to use him as a backup to 3B Appleby and 1B Nigel Anderton. Toohey had fond memories of Sydney already, having been part of their 2046 Championship-winning team.
9 Aug: 36 y/o 1B Joshua Angwin (.275/.322/.479, 266HR) signed on with the Fury for 2 seasons, the 2nd being dependent on 550PA in 2060. He was slated to be Wellington’s DH, but with Angwin, Luigi Dempster and Arthur Fingleson fighting it out for 3 spots, Angwin was either supremely confident in signing a contract with a PA vesting option, or desperate.
9 Aug: 33 y/o SP Wally Moylan (54-72, 4.99 ERA, 4.87 FIP, 1.44 WHIP) would be a Digger in 2060, having agreed to a 2-year contract.
20 Aug: When now 32 y/o SP Marcos Gallo (141-102, 4.04 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) burst onto the scene for Brisbane in 2049 - he’d also thrown 3 March innings in 2048 - he was touted as the next big thing in a Brisbane staff already dominated by stars. He won 22 games in 2053, coming runner-up in HotY, and then 18 the next season and it looked as if the predictions were true. But then, inexplicably, his arm began to fall off. There were no injuries to blame, in fact, Gallo was remarkably resilient for a starting pitcher, to-date never spending any time on the DL. He went from Brisbane to Darwin, but the change of scenery did him no good and in 2058 he was a league-leader in games lost, putting 17 in that column. It wasn’t that his defense was letting him down, either. No, he had just become plain awful. He stayed up in the bigs all season for Darwin in 2059, but started only 6 games, being used out of the pen in mop-up situations the rest of the time. Surprisingly, however, his AUNZBL career was set to continue, at least for the 2060 season. Perhaps out of sentimentality, Brisbane offered Gallo a 1-year deal, though, with 2 of his option years unused it was likely he’d be serving up tater-balls in the minors before long.
3 Sep: On the morning Spring Training began, 38 y/o Jay Cummins (169-141, 3.59 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.28 WHIP), who’d plied his trade for 14 seasons in Wellington and was tied atop the league leaderboards in career shutouts, with 11, but whose arm was certainly showing the effects of age, signed for the 2060 season with Cairns. He’d work out of the bullpen and had no illusions about doing otherwise. “I’m just grateful to the Crocs for giving me another year in the top league in the world,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t ready to call it quits here just yet, but it was looking more and more as if I’d have to head overseas to keep playing. While I'll be honest that it was initially hard for me to get my head around playing for anybody but the Fury, now I just want to do my best for this club and their amazing fans.”
Notable Trades
27 Apr: The first trade of the AUNZBL offseason was between Hobart and Christchurch. Hobart parted with 31 y/o Lance Fookes (.286/.339/.504, 209HR), who was only 1 year into a 7-year deal, in exchange for 33 y/o IF Robin Herbert (.252/.359/.383, 107HR), who was said to be “on peanuts” for the 4 years remaining on his contract, and a 21 y/o Japanese OF prospect who looked like he’d be a big-leaguer one day in the not-too-distant future, even if he’d been trade bait for his last 3 teams.
28 Apr: 27 y/o Arturo Medina’s (.272/.355/.467, 147HR) stint in Perth only lasted half a season, the Heat trading him to Christchurch for the last year of his current contract. In return, Perth acquired 27 y/o fringe-MLer Kent Carson (.226/.307/.346, 6HR from 329PA across 5 seasons) and a 19 y/o pitching prospect.
2 Jun: Whangarei had a new GM in 38 y/o Jose Gonzalez, who had no prior experience in the role in any league of note. In fact, he had no apparent baseball experience at all, but had instead been one of the young movers and shakers in the Mexican business world. One of his first moves in the job was to trade away 28 y/o LF Luke Maggs (.268/.351/.391, 46HR) to Brisbane in return for 32 y/o power hitter and strikeout machine Armando Santos (.203/.267/.387, 20HR from 475 major-league PA, 182 of which were Ks) and cash. Santos could be a good bench bat or platoon corner outfielder, the analysts surmised, but for some reason the Sluggers were talking about playing him at SS, perhaps the most important fielding position in the game and one Santos was most definitely not suited for.
2 Jun: Melbourne parted with 32 y/o OF Will Glasson (.288/.357/.450, 195HR), who’d been on their big league roster the best part of 10 years, to Wellington in exchange for 26 y/o 2B Luis Cesta, who was yet to properly break into the bigs, and a 19 y/o pitching prospect.
4 Jun: Canberra and Sydney consummated a trade, the Cavalry receiving 25 y/o SS Nathaniel Bowden (.281/.326/.454, 37HR), who hit 21HR in 2059, his 1st full season in the majors, along with cash, while Sydney acquired 26 y/o reliever Kyle Ablett, and a boss 18 y/o 1B prospect by the name of Ewan Stenis. Stenis was Dutch and had signed with the Venom before the 2058 season after being discovered doing the rounds in a high-school scratch softball league in what remained of his homeland. Adelaide had traded him to the Cavalry in January as part of a deal for pitcher Nick Waterson and now he was on the move again, but according to all who had seen him he’d be in The Show sooner rather than later.
6 Jun: Canberra made another move to strengthen their infield, acquiring 25 y/o 3B Lachlan Limeburner (.238/.285/.411, 32HR) from Wellington in exchange for 32 y/o reliever Xavier Grimes and a decent 21 y/o pitching prospect.
27 Sep: Cairns and Canberra indulged in a late preseason trade, the Crocs sending 28 y/o 1B Jai Rowe (.261/.319/.412, 5HR from 166 career PA), the subject of much fan debate last postseason, down to Canberra, along with a minor-leaguer, in return for 32 y/o corner outfielder Damian Krajancic (.260/.337/.418, 151HR). Cairns would be Krajancic’s 6th different club. He’d accumulated just over 7 and-a-half years of major-league service time.
Notable Injuries
4 Sep: Canberra would be without SP Marty Palmer (78-79, 4.53 ERA, 4.46 FIP, 1.43 WHIP) for up to 12 months after he tore his UCL. He would go under the knife immediately and openly admitted he was worried about whether he’d ever be the same pitcher again.
11 Sep: Fei-hsien Chang (.277/.341/.487, 156HR) was set to miss a good chunk of the season thanks to a bad concussion. While doctors were reluctant to put a time-frame on his return, they did say that concussions they’d seen of similar severity often took 2-3 months for a person to recover from.
25 Sep: More bad injury news for the Heat. Tadakuni Sasaki (.305/.369/.493, 27HR), who team coaching staff had been saying was going to ‘take the league by the scruff of his neck’ this season, would miss 3-4 months of proceedings thanks to a torn calf muscle.
NABA Wrap-up
The Evansville Peacemakers clinched the NABA regular season for the 3rd time and progressed to the NABA Cup for the 6th time. They were yet to win the Cup. The Olympia Shockwave, 2 games back, took out the wildcard spot, edging out Canon City by 1 game. This was Canon City’s 3rd trip to the dessert cart. They’d won it in 2057.
The Shockwave took out Game 1 by the score of 3-1, Evansville not getting on the board until the 9th. Game 2 went down to the wire, the score locked at 2 each heading into the 9th. The Shockwave hustled home the go-ahead run in the top of the inning and that was enough to win it, Olympia snaring their 2nd NABA Cup, and Evansville still without a trophy after 6 attempts.
Sioux City’s 25 y/o rookie RF Francisco Carrion (.315/.334/.566, 17HR) took out the North Cascades Award, much to the delight of the fans, as he was a NABA product through and through. Drafted in 2055 by the Rampage, Carrion developed on their reserve roster - players contracted to the NABA but not in the top flight turned out for teams in the local match-payment competitions - before getting his shot in 2060. The fans in attendance at the awards dinner weren’t done chanting Carrion’s name, however, as later that night he also won the league’s biggest honour, the Grand Canyon Award.
33 y/o Blake Cook (8-4, 1.79 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 1.01 WHIP), also of Sioux City, won the Yosemite Award. Cooke had made it as high as AAA in the AUNZBL before heading to the NABA in 2055. He played 5 seasons in the Upper Americas before giving the big-time one more try, playing the 2059/2060 season for Christchurch’s AAA-affiliate. Unable to crack the majors he once again found himself in the NABA, though he said his year back in Australia had helped him “iron out some kinks” that had developed in his game, making him an even more valuable pitcher on his return to the Upper Americas.
Other Notes
As the offseason rushed to a close, it was Perth, who’d reportedly lost somewhere close to 60 million dollars in 2059 and therefore made nearly no moves during the winter months, who’d go into 2060 with the biggest net WAR loss (-10.7). Canberra, whose only moves had been at the trading table, were the second-worst off, having lost -8.2 WAR.
On the positive end of the scale the Aces, who had had seemingly been making signing announcements every other day, added a net total of 14.3 WAR added to their 2060 roster. Champions Adelaide had also been active, turning an 11.2 WAR loss at the beginning of free agency to a 10.3 WAR gain on the eve of the 2060 season.